Francisco gay marriage san

Archived from the original on February 10, Newsom said he has no regrets about his decision. Legal setbacks and victories followed. Soon after he told his chief of staff, Steve Kawa, who is gay, that he intended to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It's not just a green light for the LGBT community. Lockyer responded by acknowledging his office had to defend state law "and allow the courts to determine whether the city has acted illegally", but said his political belief were sympathetic to issuing the licenses:

A Massachusetts court case was laying the groundwork to force that state to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

San Francisco mayor on gay marriage: 'We are proud of our city leading the nation'

On February 18,President George Bush declined to say whether he thought a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage was needed, but said: Retrieved May 21, On the other hand, Newsom and San Francisco successfully upstaged the Massachusetts marriages that occurred two months later, which would have reflected even more strongly on the Democratic presidential candidate that year, John Kerrya senator from Massachusetts. The officiant would be Mabel Teng, the assessor-recorder whose core job was to maintain marriage licenses. Opponents of same-sex marriage said Newsom was flagrantly ignoring the will of Californians.

The Supreme Court suggested that San Francisco could file its own suit against the state, and the city filed such a suit that afternoon. Marrying there was out of the question. The hesitation was shared by prominent gay rights activists. Be the first to comment Hide Comments. City and County of San Francisco 33 Cal. A Massachusetts court case was laying the groundwork to force that state to legally recognize same-sex marriage.